Portable apparatus for removing surface coatings



Jan. 19, 1932. LE BARON B. JOHNSON 1,842,099

PORTABLE APPARATUS FOR REMOVING SURFACE COATINGS Filed Jan. 22, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l I gwuentot leBaron E. Johnsqn,

dummy 1932- LE BARON B. JOHNSON 1,842,099

PORTABLE APPARATUS FOR REMOVING SURFACE COATINGS glwuentoz lcBa ron l3. (IO/7776077,

h v dtfozmq Patented Jan. 19 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LE BARON B. JOHNSON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y ASSIGHOB TO OAKITE OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PRODUCTS, INC

PORTABLE APPARATUS FOR REMOVING SURFACE COATINGS Application filed January 22, 1929. Serial No. 334,299.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in portable apparatus for removing surface coatings, such as layers of paint, and for removing foreign substances, such as. dirt and grease, from any surface.

The invention is particularly concerned with the application, upon any substantially vertical surfaces, such as those of painted sign boards, oil storage tanks, railway cars ships, etc., of any hot dirt removmg and paint stripping fluid such, for example, as a hot solution made from the well known Oakite materials.

It has been found by experiment that greatest efiicienc is obtained when such a solution is applie to the surface to be treated at a temperature between 175 F. and 212 F., such high temperature application be ng effected by sufliciently heating the solution and then quickly transferring it and uniformly directing it against the upper portions of the surface to be treated, thereafter perifnitting it to flow downwardly over said surace.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a compact and portable apparatus for efiiciently and conveniently carrying out the method set forth in the preceding paragraph. il

Other and subordinate objects of the invention are to construct said portable apparatus in such manner that it may be quickly assembled, operated and disassembled at any point of use, and to avoid wasteof the cleaning solution which is shed from the treated surfaces.

For purposes of illustration I have shown one form of the apparatus of my invention as applied to railway rolling stock.

Fig. 1 is a view, partly in perspective and partly in elevation, of the entire apparatus assembled in operative position upon a rail way box car.

Fig. 2 is an elevation, with arts in fragmentary section, of the porta le apparatus which contains, heats and causes circulation of the cleaning solution. 7

F 1g. 3 is a partial section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1, looking toward the left.

Fig. 4 represents an elevation of the upper portion of one of the sprinkling or jetting devices, (looking outwardly from the box car), and

Fig. 5 is a section taken on line 5'5 of Fig. 4. I

As seen in broken lines in Fig. 1, a car 6, mounted upon wheels 8, stands on rails 10. In close proximity to the car and its track is a portable solution-heating and distributmg apparatus, generally indicated at 12. The detailed construction of this apparatus will best be understood by reference to Fig. 2.

It comprises a truck having a platform 14 mounted on front wheels 16 and rear wheels 18. On the rear end of the platform stands. a drum 20 which is closed except for an opening 22 of any convenient size in the top thereof. At the bottom of the drum is a supporting member 24 of lesser diameter than the drum, and seated upon this support 76 is a closed smaller drum 26. A series of screened apertures 28 are arranged about the lower portion of the inner drum 26, and a pipe 30 communicates with the interior of said inner drum and connects the same with the intake of a centrifugal pump 32 which is driven in a conventional manner by an electric motor 34. A valve 36 is provided for opening and closing the pipe line 30 at will. The pump delivers into a tank 38 by way of 8C a pipe 40. This tank is heated by a unit 42 which receives live steam from any desired source through pipe 44 and which discharges the cooled wet steam or condensate through V pipe 46. The pipe 46 may, if desired, be provided with a conventional drip valve (not shown). The tank 38 discharges into a header 50 by way of a pi 52, and the header communicates, throng pipe line 54, with an annular space 56 in the bottom of the large drum 20. By means of a valve 58 the line 54 may be opened or closed at will.

The header 50 is provided with a plurality of valves 60, each'of which controls an outlet discharging into a flexible tube or hose 62 (see Fig. 1). For convenience and clarlty of illustration only a portion of the tubes 62 are shown in connected position in the drawing. The outlet end of each hose 62 1s connected as at 64 to the lower end of an upright pipe 66 which in turn is connected, hymeans of a T-joint 67, with a pair of horizontal pipes 68, the three pipes t us forming a hollow T or rake-shaped member. The pipes 68, which may be made of bendable lpe such as copper tubing in ordento con orm to irregularities of surface if it 1s so desired have a longitudinal series of discharge perforations 70 and have their outer ends closed b Y caps 72 (see Figs. 4 and 5). In the application of the device shown 1n the drawings, the caps 72 and flanges of the T- omts 67 rest against the surface of the cal- 6 and are of sufiicient diameter to maintain the pipes 68, and therefore the perforations 70, at a suitable fixed distance from the car surface. If the ca s 72 are not of suflicient thickness to hold t e pi es 68 a proper distance from the car sur ace, the pipes may be provided with suitable brackets or stops fastened thereto in order to accomplish this result, or the pipes 68 might be bent inwardly at the ends to get a similar effect.

Rigidly held in alignment with each hollow pipe 66 is a solid rod 74, and this rod projects downwardly wlth a sliding fit into a larger hollow ipe' 7 6. A set screw or clamp 78 is provi ed for permitting or checking at will, any relative movement between rod 74 and pipe 76. The pipe 76 is pointed at its lower end as at 80 and may be thrust into the ground to prevent it from slipping when it is inclined to the vertical with its supported structure leaning against the car surface (see Fig. It is thus apparent that the perforated pipes 68 may be adjusted to any desired height by manipulating the described screw clamp devices, and at any desired angle with the surface to be treated by shifting the point 80 of pipe 76.

A plurality of these rake-shaped devices are arranged in overlapping relation across one side and one end of the car. There is no need for providing enough rakes and corresponding hoses 62 to reach all the way around the car, because the apparatus can be quickly and conveniently moved, after stripping one side and one end, to the opposite side of the car for taking care of the other side and its corresponding end.

A pair of gutters 82, having their outer ends 84 closed and their inner ends open and downwardly inclined, are hung below the lower edges of the side of the car. These gutters discharge into a third gutter 86 which in turn discharges into the main drum 20 via the opening 22 therein. A similar gutter 88 is idsposed at the end of the car and empties into a pipe 90 which discharges into a small drum 92. This drum 92 is similar in construction to drum 20. It contains a smaller closed drum 94 having screened windows 96 and discharging into a pipe line 98. Line 98 is connected to the intake end of pump 32 and controlled by a stop 100.

The gutter 88 is provided with a separate drum 92 as it is frequently necessary to suspend one gutter at a much lower level than the other making it impossible to drain from the low to the high gutter. Gutter 88 might have to be suspended low, for example, because of a projecting coupler and it would thus be impossible to drain from there to the main gutter 82.

The gutters, as is best shown in Fig. 3, are supported by rods 102 and pipes 104. Each rod 102 is bent and flattened at its upper end to form a hook 106 and its lower end slides into pipe 104 where it is adjustablyheld by set-up clamps 108. The lower ends of pipes 104 are curved to provide suporting nests 110 for the gutters.

The operation of the entire apparatus is as follows:

The unit 12 is wheeled up beside the surface to be stripped and the rakes and gutters properly adjusted in position. The drum 20 is filled nearly to the top with a paint stripping or cleaning solution. After starting motor 34 and simultaneously closing valves 60 and 100 and opening valves 36 and 58, steam is circulated through unit 42. The solution thus is forced to take a course from drum 26 through pipe 30, thence through pump 32, tank 38, header 50, pipe line 54, and back into drum 26 via windows 28. lVhen the temperature of the solution has been boosted sufiiciently high in this manner, valve 60 is opened and valve 58 is closed, and it follows that the hot solution is then forced out into the flexible tubes 62 and thence into pipes 66 and 68 to be directed in jet form from the perforations 70 against the upper portion of the surface to be treated. It then flows downwardly over the said surface, removing paint and dirt, as the case may be, and

is collected in the gutters 82 and 88. From gutters 82 the solution flows into drum 20 as shown and then is filtered through screens 28 into drum 26, after which it again passes to pum 32 etc. Any excess foreign matter settles into the annular space 56 and may be periodically removed. That solution which was collected in gutter 88 passes into drums 92 and 94 in a like manner and is returned to the heater by pump 32 when valve 100 is opened.

If some portions of the car surface are stripped in less. time than others, the outlets disposed above the stripped portions may be rendered inoperative by manipulation of eration by closing the proper valves 60 an the valve 36.

I wish it to be understood that variousrefinements and modifications may be made of the apparatus which I have illustrated and described in detail, so long as such I changes fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

, 1. In an apparatus for strippin paint and finish coatings from substantial y upright surfaces, a portable unit comprising a paint removing solution drum, a pump, a conduit connecting the solution drum and the intake of the pump, a temperature booster communicating with the outlet of the pump, an outlet for said booster, a header having a plurality of control valves in the booster outlet, a plurality of conduits each connected at one end to one of the 'control valves and at the other end to a jet pipe having a set of longi- 5 tudinal perforations, and means for supporting said jet pipes adjacent to and space from the substantially upright surface. being cleaned in horizontal position with the aforesaid set of perforations facing said surface 2nd at a point above the bottom1of said surace.

2. In an apparatus for stripping paint and finish coatings from substantially upright surfaces, a portable unit comprising apaint removing solution drum, a pump, a conduit connecting the solution drum and the intake of the pump, a temperature booster communicatin with the outlet of the pump, an outlet for t e booster, means for conducting solution from said booster outlet to the surface being cleaned at a point above the bottom of said surface, means for collecting the used solution, and means for returnin the solution thus collected to the intake 0 the pump while simultaneously conducting solution to the surface being cleaned.

3. In an apparatus for stripping paint and finish coatings from inclined and upright surfaces, a heater, means for circulating paintremoving solution through said heater thereby to highly heat the same, and means for conducting heated paint-removing solution from said heater and for uniformly distributing the same to the surface being stripped along a horizontal line extending across the upper part of a substantial portion of the surface being stripped, thereby to produce a uniform downward flow of paint-removing solution in the form of a continuous sheet over a substantial portion of the surface being stripped.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein there are means for collecting the solution which has flowed over the surface being strip- 05 ped, and means for recirculating said collectedsolution through. the heater while simultaneously discharging newly heated solution through said 'et ipes.

5. Apparatus as define in claim 3 wherein the distributing means includes a longitudinally perforated jet pipe arranged horizontally adjacent the surface being stripped at the upper portion thereof.

6. In'a portable apparatus for stripping paint and finish coatings from inclined and upright surfaces, a drum adapted to contain paint-removing solution, a pump, a conduit connecting the solution drum and the intake of the pump, a heater communicating with the outlet of the pump, a plurality of longitudinally perforated jet pipes, means to support said jet pipes end to end adjacent the surface being striped and along a line across the upper portion thereof with their perforations facing the surface being stripped, and means for conducting solution to said jet pipesfrom said heater, whereby the solution pumped through said heater is conducted to the jet pipes thereby to be directed over the surface being stripped in a uniform thinly flowing sheet.

In an apparatus as defined in claim 6, means for collectin the used solution at the lower portion of said surface, and means for returning the collected solution to the pump while simultaneously discharging newly heated solution through said jet pipes.

8. In an apparatus as defined in claim 6,

gutters supported at the lower portion of the surface being cleaned to collect the solution which has flowed over the surface being stripped and means for conducting such collected solution to the intake side of the pump while simultaneously discharging newly heated solution from the jet plpes.

9. An apparatus as defined in claim 6 wherein the supporting means for the jet pipes constitute rods adjustable in length, the lower ends of which are constructed to be supported near the base of the surface being stripped at a spaced distance therefrom.

10. An apparatus as defined in claim 6 wherein the jet pipes are of readily deformable material adapted to maintain its deformed shape, whereby they may be bent to conform to the contours of the surface being stripped.

11. In a portable apparatus for stripping paint and finish coatings from surfaces, a heater, means for passing paint-removing solution through said heater, a plurality of jet pipes having sets of longitudinal perforations, means to support said jet 'pipes end to end adjacent the surface being stripped with their perforations facing the surface being stripped, and means for conducting solution to said jet pipes from said heater, whereby the paint-removing solution passed through the heater is conducted to the jet pipes thereby to be directed over the surfaces being stripped in a thinly flowing sheet.

12. In an apparatus as defined in claim 11, said jet pipes being arranged end to end alon the upper portion of the surface to be treate a gutter supported along the lower portion of said surface to collect the used solution, means for straining said used solution and returning the same to the pump, while simultaneously discharging newly heated solution through said jet plipes.

In testimony w ereof, I have hereunto set my signature.

LE BARON B. JOHNSON. 

